Punjab Cafe — Restaurant in San Jose

By far this is now my favorite Indian place in San Jose. Last week I was craving Indian food and after a quick search I "found" this place and believe me, its reviews are legitimate.

I call the place to order my food (if you want to help the locals, just take the phone and make your order, this way they really don't lose money in every order). the person who took my order was very kind and clarified all my doubts.

I ordered: Vegetable Samosa -came 2 big pieces (turnovers stuffed with potatoes and green peas). Lamb Tikka Masala (lamb cooked in a rich creamy tomato sauce) with Naan Navratan Korma (Nine Vegetables cooked in nine spices, homemade cheese & nuts in a light cream sauce) with basmati rice

Everything was on point, big portions (you will have leftovers for sure). Every single bite was tasty, even days before! (leftovers). I'm a big fan of Indian Food, but I try to not eat it very often because it's a little heavy and sometimes (it depends on the place) a little greasy. But not Punjab Cafe, the curry is light (but not in flavor) and your stomach will not resent it.

Another point: I LOVE spicy food, all the time I ask my food "spicy" and they delivered! for the first time I wasn't disappointed, and still, even it was really spicy I tasted all the flavors. I other words: Punjab Cafe is totally worth it!

P.s. The photos don't make justice to the food, but I was so focused on enjoying it that they are the only ones I...

Found this place here on Google Maps so it only seems right to add my own review. On entry you think this place looks like a bit of a dive.. it's interior is plain and not at all fancy, but that hides the secret that this is what I'd call a legit Indian restaurant. The service was good but the food was absolutely wonderful, and I've had Indian food in a couple dozen counties now. While my favorite is still in London, this is the best I've had here on the west coast.

I went with 2 friends at dinner time. They had a rather nice buffet spread but we ate from the menu because we wanted specific dishes, namely, lamb vindaloo. I asked for extra spicy but it could have been hotter. My other friend said their normal spicy wasn't that hot either so be sure to ask for a bit more spice than you expect. We all agreed that the curry dishes definitely did not short you on meat. Many places are stingy on the meat and load you up with potatoes instead, but not Punjab Cafe, it was almost all lamb with just a couple of potato chunks, as it should be.

The naan bread was fantastic especially the paneer (cheese) naan. The vegetable samosa was large and well stuffed while the mango lassi was thick and tasty.

I would definitely eat here again...

I made a last minute order last night through Eat24 when my roommates all decided to cook pork (I'm deathly allergic) Not realizing that when the app said the menu hours were u til 10, the restaurant actually also closed at 10, I placed my order in at 9:52. (It didn't occur to me to check the restaurant's hours until -after- I had placed my order). But, a short 25min later, I had my order delivered. I was somewhat shocked. I was expecting my food delivery to be rejected for it being so last minute. But a very nice man delivered my food. I gave him a $10 tip as a thank you/apology for being such a jerk for ordering so late/last minute. My food was much more delicious than I expected. I love love love the lamb dish I ordered. It's in a creamy sauce with nuts. And boy is it creamy. The rice is decent, flavorful and not mushy. I also enjoyed the paneer naan (aside from my aversion to cilantro. But that's not their fault I'm picky). All in all, the service was excellant, and the food was superb. I will be ordering food from them more often, and maybe visit their standing restaurant sometime...